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Brian Lehrer: It's the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. As we said before the news, every day during the membership drive, we're doing a 10-question quiz in the middle of the show to break things up, usually right after the news, have a little fun, and hopefully give away some swag. Today it's a 10-question quiz about New York City Critters. 10 questions about 10 different species or specific famous New York City critters. Who wants to play? Our 10 lines are full. You can get in when people finish up at 212-433-WNYC.

Get two in a row right, and you can choose between a Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap and the new WNYC tote for this membership drive that says You Can't Defund The Truth. You can get in line now. We'll get to you right after the first few people finish up at 212-433-9692. Sibel in Manhattan is on line 1. Hi, Sibel. Ready to play?

Sibel: Hi, Brian. Yes. Big fan.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you. Question one. Mayor Eric Adams hates my species, but I'm hard to wipe out. You might even find me nesting in your walls or car engines, even climbing up the subway stairs with a big slice of pizza. Who am I?

Sibel: A rat.

Brian Lehrer: Definitely a rat. Everybody remembers the pizza rat. Question two for the hat or the tote. Mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa thinks of me as a solution to our last critter. You can find me in bodegas across the city as well as homes. Unfortunately, there's a lot of us in shelters, too. Who am I?

Sibel: A cat.

Brian Lehrer: A cat is right. Do you want the baseball cap or the You Can't Defund The Truth tote?

Sibel: I would love a baseball cap, please.

Brian Lehrer: Sibel, hang on. We'll take your address off the air. Elmo in Bergen County. Ready to play?

Elmo: Absolutely.

Brian Lehrer: All right. Now, we're looking for the name of an individual critter. Speaking of mayors, I've got a rocky history with them, says this critter. On one cold February morning, I bit Mayor Bloomberg. On another, Mayor de Blasio dropped me. You have to take the ferry to reach my borough, but every year you come knocking when you want to know the weather report. Who am I? Not just the species--

Elmo: Your groundhog.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, but we're looking for the name of the-- It's a harder one. We're looking for the name of the groundhog.

Elmo: Oh, God. He's at the Staten Island Zoo. Can I get a hint?

Brian Lehrer: Let's See? Trump's been using this word a lot to disparage the head of the Democrats in the Senate without using his title.

Elmo: Oh. Chucky. Chuck. Chuck.

Brian Lehrer: Chuck is right. Staten Island Chuck. All right, I gave that to you.

Elmo: Thanks.

Brian Lehrer: Question four for the hat or the tote. Now I'm another marquee name critter. I lived in the Central Park Zoo until I broke free. Then I soared amongst the skyscrapers and perched on your fire escapes. One day, I ate a rat, flew into a building, and that was that. New Yorkers mourned me, and some even got commemorative tattoos. Who am I?

Elmo: The falcon.

Brian Lehrer: I can't give this away to you like I gave the other person [crosstalk]--

Elmo: It's an owl. It's an owl.

Brian Lehrer: You got to get the owl's name. Thousands of people are shouting the owl's name right now, listening to me. I'm sorry [crosstalk]--

Elmo: Do I need to know the owl's name?

Brian Lehrer: The owl's name, because the owl is that famous. It's like saying who hosts The Tonight Show, and you should know the name. In this case, the owl is that big. Sorry, Elmo. It's Flaco the owl. Nice try. Next up is Jennifer in Brooklyn. Hi, Jennifer. Ready to play?

Jennifer: I'm ready.

Brian Lehrer: All right, question five. I used to be a pet, and a very useful one. They brought us from Europe as a method of communication. We were released into the wild, and our population exploded. Now humans don't love us so much anymore, but we still rely on you. Who am I? What species am I?

Jennifer: I'm going to guess a rock pigeon.

Brian Lehrer: Pigeon is all we needed, so absolutely right. They were brought here as a means of communication originally. Question six, for the hat or the tote? We mostly roam the outer boroughs, but recently my partner and I took up residence in Central Park. They call us Romeo and Juliet as our species mates for life. We're relatives of your dog, but keep your dog away from us. Who are we?

Jennifer: Those are coyotes.

Brian Lehrer: Those are coyotes. Jennifer, you want the baseball cap or the You Can't Defund The Truth tote?

Jennifer: I'll go for the tote, thank you.

Brian Lehrer: All right, hang on. We're going to take your address off the air, and we're going to go next to Carrie in Croton-on-Hudson. Hi, Carrie. Ready to play?

Carrie: Oh, yes. This is great.

Brian Lehrer: Question seven. Glad you're enjoying it. If you brush up against me, I might latch onto you and make you sick like a place in Connecticut. Who am I?

Carrie: The ticks from Lyme, Connecticut. You get Lyme disease.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, that's right. I'm a deer tick.

Carrie: It's all [unintelligible 00:06:33] [laughs]

Brian Lehrer: Yes, ticks named after the Connecticut town. They don't all come from there. They had a famous outbreak in the '70s, and the disease got the name. They're more outside the city, but they've increasingly been found in the city, the New York Times says, especially on Staten Island and in the North Bronx, but not only. Question eight for the hat or the tote.

There were three of us on the grounds of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Our names are Jim, Harry, and Phil. Maybe you were lucky enough to see me spread my colorful tail feathers wide, and in 2023, we retired to a sanctuary upstate. What species am I?

Carrie: Is it the red-tailed hawk?

Brian Lehrer: Oh, that is wrong. Sorry. I was going to give you a hint, which is NBC's streaming service.

Carrie: Oh, the peacock.

Brian Lehrer: Yes. You got it with a hint. Juliana, she got it with the hint. There we go.

Carrie: Oh, wow. Cool.

Brian Lehrer: There's the band. Hang on. Do you want the hat or the You Can't Defund The Truth tote?

Carrie: I want the tote. Tomorrow is No Kings, so [laughs] [unintelligible 00:07:54] I know I won't get it tomorrow, but anyway. Thank you.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you very much. Carrie's going to carry the tote. Thank you for calling. Two questions left. Let's try who's been waiting a long time. Eric in Harlem. You're on WNYC. Hi, Eric.

Eric: Hi.

Brian Lehrer: New York City Critters quiz. Question nine. If you see me, you're supposed to step on me. Who am I?

Eric: Lanternfly.

Brian Lehrer: Yes. The spotted lanternfly. Right. Here's question 10, end of the quiz. For the Brian Lehrer Show baseball cap or the You Can't Defund The Truth tote. Last year, the American Kennel Club published a list of the five most popular dog species in New York City. The five most popular dog species in New York City. Can you name any two?

Eric: Golden Retriever-

Brian Lehrer: That is one.

Eric: -and a Shih Tzu.

Brian Lehrer: Oh, sorry, Eric. Not right. Thank you for trying. The five were French Bulldog, Bulldog, Poodle, Golden Retriever, and Labrador Retriever. True to the diversity of New York City, the Kennel Club tells us there were different notable favorites among the city's distinct neighborhoods. Astoria French Bulldog, East Village French Bulldog, Park Slope, and Riverdale all French Bulldog. Chelsea's, I guess, most common breed was a dachshund. New Dorp on Staten Island, the Labrador Retriever for some reason in Tribeca, and up on the Upper East Side, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Nationally, the Kennel Club says the Labrador Retriever was the most popular dog breed in the United States in the last year. They measured 20, 21 for the 31st year in a row. 31st year in a row? It usurped the Cocker Spaniel back in 1991. That's our 10-question New York City Critters quiz. Thanks for playing. We gave away a lot of hats and totes. That's great. We'll continue to have 10-question quizzes to break up the membership drive in the middle of the show as the drive continues. Brian Lehrer on WNYC. A lot more of other stuff to come. Stay with us.

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